So after a 2hr interrogation and a thorough bag search at LAX immigration, they eventually let me in..

I havent seen the XL yet but I had a look at the pile of parts and luggage i left behind 3 months ago....hmm i really need to find myself a good pannier luggage system to work out how much of it i can carry..
I figured it might be worth shelling out the cash if i find something that comes off and on easily, lightweight, and fixable after i have my first crash in Baja sand.
i still havent had any luck for a good option that will fit, i had briefly checked out the Happy trails and pelican setup but it doesnt look like it fits the XL frame
I will do some mor research tomorrow after i get over the jet lag.

I have read a lot of guys who really prefer the SOFT bags for that concern. Have you thought about just going with some wolfman bags? They are strong and water tight. Also you could think of doing this...

He put all of the footman loops on to give him multiple tie downs, without adding much weight to the bike at all. He says it works out really very well for him and he can pack a lot of crap on that bike.

I have read a lot of guys who really prefer the SOFT bags for that concern. Have you thought about just going with some wolfman bags? They are strong and water tight. Also you could think of doing this...

He put all of the footman loops on to give him multiple tie downs, without adding much weight to the bike at all. He says it works out really very well for him and he can pack a lot of crap on that bike.

last choice would be (and a DISTANT last choice at that) a pelican style case. They claim they are indestructible, but that is total crap. If you drop them they do not break, if you drop them under a motorcycle going 50 then they shatter into crappy little bits and you are royally screwed. At least with the metal cases you can bash them into shape again and deal with it, and in the next town find a welder to fix them up 'good as new' (yeah, right, but at least they can be mended a bit). The plastic guys will leave you without bags in the middle of no where and no way to pack your stuff to the next city. Stay way, please.

Sorry, but every report I have red in which the pelican style bags were employed ended with metal bags on the bike and bits of personal possessions and plastic scattered across South America. One guy actually lost the door to one, a bit of duct tape and straps got him and all of his gear on the road again until he destroyed the rest of the bag and lost some gear. Ultimately he got the Happy Trails because they were A metal and B awesome to him and shipped them out really fast to Mexico.
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Sorry to stick my nose in where it was not invited, and if you go with that style that I loath I will, of course, keep reading, and promise not to say "I told you so"...

last choice would be (and a DISTANT last choice at that) a pelican style case. They claim they are indestructible, but that is total crap. If you drop them they do not break, if you drop them under a motorcycle going 50 then they shatter into crappy little bits and you are royally screwed. At least with the metal cases you can bash them into shape again and deal with it, and in the next town find a welder to fix them up 'good as new' (yeah, right, but at least they can be mended a bit). The plastic guys will leave you without bags in the middle of no where and no way to pack your stuff to the next city. Stay way, please.

Sorry, but every report I have red in which the pelican style bags were employed ended with metal bags on the bike and bits of personal possessions and plastic scattered across South America. One guy actually lost the door to one, a bit of duct tape and straps got him and all of his gear on the road again until he destroyed the rest of the bag and lost some gear. Ultimately he got the Happy Trails because they were A metal and B awesome to him and shipped them out really fast to Mexico.
​

Sorry to stick my nose in where it was not invited, and if you go with that style that I loath I will, of course, keep reading, and promise not to say "I told you so"...

Regards,

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Cheers for the opinion on the pelicans, im definately here for any weighted advice i can get, all recommendations appreciated

I spoke to someone at happy trails today and they basically said that trying to get their rack and side panniers on an XL600 couldnt and shouldnt be attempted due to frame strength and differences

looking at the wolfman racks, they dont seem as complicated only 2 points to connect to the frame..

Just heard back from him, unfortunately his welder is broken and he doesn't have the dough to fix it right now. I'll ask a few other folks, he was the closest to you that I know though.

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Thanks for trying, i will be ordering the racks tomorrow and hopefully they arrive mid week.
I need to get the side racks organised by the weekend so i can work out what top rack to buy because I'm off to NewYork on saturday and when i get back to LA hopefully it will all be ready to head south shortly afterwards..

Not to bust your balls RZ Rob, but the XL was built to be a dual sport, the XR was Honda's true dirt bike.

Mr. South,

I have 2 XL600's and 3 old dual carb XR600's, and that friend you made in LA sounds a bit like me. When the time comes for me to take a trip far South, I'm planneing on customizing an old XL a bit and taking it. I've been wanting to see if I can track down some jets for some of the high altitude passes, and am in the middle of making the subframe removable to make it easier to get in there. I'm curious if you have any plans for when you may need to change the jetting, since it seems the jets are hard to find?

My brother has a machine shop, so I've considered having him make some, but I'm not sure there is a big market for them (but I'd probably have some extras made if/when the time comes). If you or your buddy know of a source, please pass it on.

Best of luck on your trip man!

Ride On Ride On!

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Just reading this cool build, and even cooler attitude towards the trip. Good on you for doing this. Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much about the jetting up in the altitude. I just took my XR6 jetted perfectly for sea level in Hawaii, up to damn near 14,000 ft. on Mauna Kea with no real problems. Yeah it ran fat as hell up there, and it was easier to bump start it, than kick it, but I could start it, and I did climb a really steep sandy hill while I was up there, and it did it. These XRs and XLs just freakin go man. I think it's the perfect bike for your trip, and I like the relationship you are building with it. Cheers!

Just reading this cool build, and even cooler attitude towards the trip. Good on you for doing this. Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much about the jetting up in the altitude. I just took my XR6 jetted perfectly for sea level in Hawaii, up to damn near 14,000 ft. on Mauna Kea with no real problems. Yeah it ran fat as hell up there, and it was easier to bump start it, than kick it, but I could start it, and I did climb a really steep sandy hill while I was up there, and it did it. These XRs and XLs just freakin go man. I think it's the perfect bike for your trip, and I like the relationship you are building with it. Cheers!

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Thanks, good to know..

I bought some new carbs off ebay and they just arrived yesterday..
They have 115 jets, the stock is 120 and high altitude is supposed to be 112,
I found one 112 main jet as a spare that i could use on the primary carb at altitude but hopefully 115 will be a happy medium?
Ive never rode up mountains on a bike, it will probably do better than i did when i hiked machu picchu a few years ago.